The year is barely off the starting blocks but already things are looking bleak, the Bureau of Economic Research (BER) is reporting.
Looking at January this far, it has found that if what it has seen is “anything to go by, it is likely to be another extremely challenging year for the SA economy”.
The BER’s sentiments are also in keeping with what FTW has been told by at least two market analysts, Nedbank economist Nicky Weimar and Mike Schussler of Economists.co.za
In addition to its assessment of 2020 so far, it said that “hope of an acceleration in real GDP growth towards 1% is already fading, with forecasts being revised down”.
Revised BER data is also expected soon, data that will have factored in load-shedding at the start of the year, domestic political meddling in struggling SOE affairs, and trade tensions that are thankfully abating between the US and China while geopolitical threats between the Trump administration and Iran are dominating headlines.
